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Episode:02
|aired = 11-Oct-1995 |prev = Episode 01 |next = Episode 03 }} "An Unfamiliar Ceiling" is the second episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Overview Shinji wakes up in the hospital, with no memory of the fight against the Angel the night before. His father wants nothing to do with him, so NERV's head of operations, Misato Katsuragi, becomes his legal guardian. Settling into life in Misato's apartment, he eventually recalls the furious battle. Extended Summary Episode 02 resumes the first episode, with Shinji preparing to face the Angel in Evangelion Unit-01. Shinji's fear makes his attempt to move his Eva fail, vulnerable to the Angel's attack. The Angel then proceeds to seriously damage the Eva, breaking its left arm and piercing through its skull. The pilot's signal is lost, and the Eva shuts down. The scene then cuts to the hospital, where Shinji suddenly wakes up, noting that he doesn't recognize where he is. Gendo discusses the reappearance of the Angels after 15 years with the Human Instrumentality Committee, while Misato and Ritsuko survey the aftermath of the battle. Gendo is instructed not to let the sudden reappearance of the Angels make the Human Instrumentality Project fall behind schedule. Shinji briefly sees Rei during his stay at the hospital. Afterwards, Misato comes to pick him up before they meet Gendo in the elevator, which Shinji wordlessly refuses to enter. Misato takes Shinji to be assigned accommodation but discovers that he will be living alone. As a result, she decides to take him in after promising Ritsuko not to "put the moves" on him. On the way home from shopping, Misato takes Shinji to an observation point overlooking Tokyo-3 and they witness the city buildings emerge from underground as she tells him that it is their home and the city he helped protect. Misato and Shinji arrive at Misato's Apartment. The latter tries to enter as a guest, but Misato insists that the apartment is now his home, which Shinji reluctantly agrees to. Misato's apartment is in an incredibly messy state, the instant meals and many beer cans giving away her usual life at home. Misato changes and they begin eating while the former also succeeds in getting drunk. While taking a bath, Shinji meets Pen Pen in the bathroom and is so startled that he runs back into the kitchen to tell Misato who explains that Pen-Pen is their other "roommate", and advises Shinji to cover up. As he slinks back into the bathroom in extreme embarrassment, Shinji reflects on the day's events. We see Evangelion Unit-00 frozen in Bakelite being observed by Gendo and Ritsuko. They discuss Rei's recovery in a ruined control room and Gendo reveals that despite their hardships he will continue to have the children pilot the Evangelions. Shinji lies alone in his bedroom, listening to his SDAT player while Misato speaks with Ritsuko on the phone about their situation. Shinji reflects on his presence in Tokyo-3, and as he does so, sounds from the battle are heard and images of nerve cells as viewed through a microscope flash across the screen. A flashback then begins which shows the events of the earlier battle. Unit-01 was rendered inoperative by Sachiel's attack, with NERV losing control of the Eva and contact with the pilot. Misato orders the ejection of the Entry Plug, but the system is completely out of control. Unit-01 suddenly reactivates and begins to act on its own, launching a vicious attack upon the Angel and succeeding in damaging its face. A second attack by the Eva is blocked by a powerful A.T. Field barrier. The Eva then repairs its broken left arm and erodes the Angel's barrier with another A.T. Field. Once the barrier is down, Unit-01 soundly defeats Sachiel by shattering the downed Angel's Core. As a last desperate attack, Sachiel wraps itself around the Eva and self destructs in a massive cross-shaped explosion, though Unit-01 emerges from the explosion with little apparent damage. As NERV regains control of the Evangelion, Shinji comes to in the entry plug. The damaged helmet sloughs off, and Shinji is able to glimpse the Eva's face reflected in the windows of a building. As he looks on, the Eva's eye regenerates and suddenly stares straight at him, resulting in him screaming in terror before the scene abruptly cuts back to Shinji in his room. He slowly curls up in bed after recalling the battle before Misato comes to his door and praises him for piloting the Eva and saving the city. Notes *When Misato is channel-surfing on the TV while in the NERV tent with Ritsuko, it is difficult to tell exactly what they are saying, however, the full lines of dialogue for the people on the TV were actually included in the script: (parts actually heard on-screen are italicized): **Woman on Channel 12: "...the government administration's announcement was carried out this morning in the official residence of the prime minister of Tokyo-2." **Man on Channel 4: "As for the participation of the SSDF in this incident not being recognized, this was negated." **Woman on Channel 8: "They advocated that the U.N. forces' sortie into Japan was within the scope of the law." **Man on Channel 1: "When confronted with the claim, "Was this not an alien attack?", they laughed, saying, "This isn't manga"." *Misato complains that it is hot out when they are in the truck transporting Eva Unit-01's helmet, and even with the air conditioning turned up, she takes off several layers of clothing to be more comfortable. However, Ritsuko does not take off her heavy lab coat. This would seem to be emblematic of their personalities; Misato is casual and laid-back, while Ritsuko is very professional and concerned with appearances. *The outfit that Misato changes into when she brings Shinji back to her apartment (blue cutoff short shorts, a loose-fitting yellow t-shirt, and apparently no bra) is exactly the same outfit that Asuka wears when she kisses Shinji in Episode 15. *The shot of Misato grabbing Shinji's head from above while at her kitchen table visually parallels the shot when Sachiel grabs Unit-01's head from above. *The two women talking in the convenience store seem to be voiced by Yuko Miyamura and Megumi Hayashibara, the voices actresses for Asuka and Rei. *The song played in the convenience store is You Are the Only One, which also appears in Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone Quotes *'Shinji Ikari:' "I don't know this ceiling." *'Misato Katsuragi:' "This is New Tokyo-3. This is our city. And it's the city that you helped to protect." *'Ritsuko Akagi:' "It's gone berserk?" Category:Episodes